A Little Treat by the Sidewalk

A little treat by the sidewalk is always appreciated. Coneflowers are a favorite of mine.

Monarch Monitoring Milkweed Blooms

The swamp milkweed at the Children's Museum is blooming so pretty in pink, coinciding with my first monarch sighting of the year. (yesterday-- no picture though) Bees and other butterflies, like a skipper for example I saw today, are digging those pretty pink blooms too.

Summer's Bloomers: Black-eyed Susans

Seems like a bit of a tradition for me: snapping at least one picture of black-eyed susans this season.

Fallen Flowers: Catalpa

In the gutter this morning, some fallen flowers from the Northern Catalpa.

First Trees to Bloom of the Year: Silver Maples

It's a few weeks yet before the magic that is spring begins, but already the earliest bloomers have gotten going and for sure there are sprouts pushing up out of the ground too.

Bookends

December isn't the worst time to think about how things begin and end.  

Self-Decorating Trees (Sweetgum)

The self-decorating tree is much like the self-cleaning oven is what I'm thinking. What's not to love about the idea?

Free Deciduous Conifer Mulch and other Rusty Glimpses this Fall

I passed a garden bed of rusty needles at Hofstra not long ago which looked beautiful and also as if it had been deliberately mulched, though it hadn't been. Free deciduous conifer mulch, I thought, how awesome. I'm pretty sure the mulch had fallen from a Dawn Redwood as there was one nearby. (Not the Dawn Redwood pictured below which I passed another recent morning and which hadn't shed all its needles yet.)

In keeping with this afternoon's theme of things you might mostly think of as just being green like a conifer, some little blue stem grass I passed was looking pretty fine wearing its fall and winter hue.

Leaf of the Week

Most of the skyline is leafless now, but there are still some trees and shrubs with fall color this early December. This oakleaf hydrangea is looking pretty sweet right now.

Like a Potpourri Underfoot

With Eastern Prickly Pear Fruit, Sweetgum seedpods and some other autumn lovelies.

What's Happening Outside Now?

As usual when it comes to plants, much more than you might think is possible.

Fothergilla This Fall on a Sunny Afternoon

And a throwback below to Fothergilla in bloom this spring on an overcast day.

What Dares to Bloom Now? Witch Hazel!

Though I tend to be impressed by most plants, I really have to give it up for one that is fierce enough to dare bloom after the first frost of the year. Our native witch hazel blooms today.

Some People Read Tea Leaves

But I'm going with what the Redbuds seem to be whispering to me this morning.

💛 + 🌟's: ID'ing Leaves Shaped Like Lucky Charms Underfoot Today

If you find stars on the ground at your feet this autumn, an American sweetgum tree likely isn't too far away. And if you come upon a perfect heart-shaped leaf, one possibility is that it has dropped from another native, the Eastern Redbud.

Sourwood: A North American Native With Perfect Red Color This Week

This young Sourwood tree planted near a parking lot at Hofstra had the most perfect red, red leaves this week. It's definitely a plant worth seeing this season.

Didn't Find a Chrysalis on the Milkweed (or butterfly weed)

I did bump into a Milkweed Beetle. One of these days I will see the monarch's chrysalis. At least I hope so.

Today's Weather

That yellow tulip tree leaf in a puddle at my feet says it's fall and pretty wet out today. Windy too.

Black-eyed Susan's at Summer's End

The Black-eyed Susan's at summers end are more black-eyed than yellow-petaled, but still worth stopping beside for a minute or two.

This Summer's Favorite, Summerweet, at the End of the Season

Seems like every season I fall in love just a little with a particular plant and this season it was Summersweet. It wasn't just the delicious smell though or the long blooming time that reeled me in, but the potential for sweet encounters of the pollinating kind.